At the core of the Best Employers list compiled by Aon Hewitt, a global HR consulting and outsourcing firm, is high employee engagement, which is driven by leadership quality, effective rewards, strong workplace culture and values, enabling productivity and the support of performance and development. The list is determined, in large part, by surveying employees. So Maclean’s asked all 50 organizations (listed alphabetically) what they think earned them such high marks from their staff. Here are the highlights:

There is a strong commitment to helping employees achieve better balance financially and in life

Regular CEO luncheons for employees

Rewards: Staff retention

The high salaries promised by Alberta’s oil and gas sector have left the rest of the province’s employers scrambling to secure what remains of an increasingly fickle and empowered labour force. Successful businesses are finding that staff retention is about a lot more than money.

“In Alberta, there are not enough qualified people to fill all our vacancies,” says Mike Olsson, a regional HR manager for Edmonton-based PCL Construction. The company attributes a large part of its low turnover to the fact that all of its permanent staff of about 3,600 workers own part of the company through an employee stock plan. Olsson says PCL benefits from large-scale recruitment efforts, “but people stay because they know they are a part of something special. Our staff value coming to work.”

Along with its share program, the company puts an emphasis on training and an open-door policy for workers to approach their managers. The focus on employees appears to be paying off. Of PCL’s last 500 hires last year, one-third came from referrals.

At Clark Builders, another Edmonton construction firm, an employee stock plan is also used to retain and reward employees. Of its 800 staff, about 200 own shares in the company and reap the rewards of dividends. “Every day, headhunters are trying to compete for our people. And many of our competitors have had struggles,” says Gerald Clark, the firm’s manager of human resources. The company also puts an emphasis on training, recognizing its top employees and promoting from within. “You can spend up to 80 per cent of your life at work, so why not enjoy it?” says Clark. “We have excellent values and we know our people.”

Management: Why perks don’t work

Boosting productivity with less staff is the Holy Grail of most businesses, recession or not. With Canada’s skilled labour shortage expected to get worse before it gets better, employers and HR professionals are taking stock of their current staff and trying to figure out how to keep employees both happy and loyal.

Trading generous perks for productivity might seem like the obvious answer, but experts say workplace happiness isn’t about things like free food in the cafeteria or a foosball table in the break room.

Dean Sockett, director of HR for Keg Restaurants Ltd., says the real key to winning over workers is effective management and a friendly, respectful workplace. About 8,000 people work at the Keg, and it boasts one of the lowest turnover rates in a service industry typically beleaguered by a revolving door of employees.

“We are big on ‘work hard and play hard,’ ” he says. “We host many annual events: Keg Oscars, a ski race, volleyball and baseball tournaments and a lip-synch contest—the winner of which receives tickets to a warm destination,” he said. “We have never formulated any premeditated strategies to retain staff; they all evolved naturally.”

Several top Keg executives started with the company as serving staff, a testament to a business climate that respects all of its staff as potential leaders, says Sockett, who also climbed up the ranks from waiting tables. “It’s just how we run our company.”

Frivolous perks don’t work, agrees David Clarkson, vice-president of strategy and planning for Cisco Canada, a company that gives all of its 1,300 employees the option to work from home. Competitive salaries combined with the reduction in travel costs and the flexibility inherent in working from home has made it a successful initiative with employees, he says.

Neil Crawford, a partner with Aon Hewitt, says businesses implementing 11th-hour perks to increase productivity may not get the intended results. “The key is great leadership and highly effective front-line managers. Employees value this more than perks because it is about them, as individuals.”

Finance: Happy bankers

Greg Newman was walking past New York City’s Zuccotti Park in March when an Occupy Wall Street protester started shouting at him. The man in his 20s was ranting about the one per cent’s conspiracy to crush the middle class, and Newman, who was sight-seeing with his wife, decided to hear him out. After listening for a few minutes, the senior wealth adviser at ScotiaMcLeod Inc. asked: “Want to hear what somebody from Bay Street has to say?”

Over the past few years, the finance sector’s reputation has taken a beating. Whether they’re the target of a global grassroots movement or are being blamed for causing the worst recession since the Great Depression or for producing high-profile crooks such as Bernie Madoff, the “suits” are used to defending their profession. At a time when 64 per cent of Americans say it’s harder for U.S. companies to gain their trust today than it was a few years ago, why are those working in finance so happy?

While critics may claim a big paycheque would keep anyone smiling, Newman insists thatcompared to his work in another lucrative field, civil litigation, finance is more fulfilling: “Law is a bit of a zero-sum game, with winners and losers; whereas in finance, there is a bit of a win-win. You can make a living from helping your clients with such an important part of their life.”

According to a survey by Aon Hewitt, employees of commercial banks, insurance companies and credit unions reported an engagement level of around 70 per cent or higher. Over 87 per cent felt their organization was socially and environmentally responsible. The high level of job satisfaction is in part because finance professionals don’t see their work as greedy and emotionless. “Our business is not about selling a stock, a bond, a mutual fund and insurance,” says David Lane, managing principal of the investment firm Edward Jones Canada. “It’s about helping people put their kids and grandkids through university and achieving financial independence in retirement.”

At the end of their 10-minute conversation in New York, Newman may not have sold the Occupy protester on the benefits of capitalism, but the wealth adviser’s willingness to engage with him was disarming. The young man asked for Newman’s business card so that the next time he was in Toronto they could grab a beer.

Management: Healthy benefits

There are few industries where keeping employees happy matters more than in heath care: 70 per cent of the total cost of health care is people costs. And as the health care industry grows and prepares for an aging population, hospitals across Canada are finding that improving employee engagement is one of the clearest strategies to improving health care delivery.

This is a lesson that Jack Kitts, president and CEO of the Ottawa Hospital, has learned. In 2009 the leadership of his hospital grew concerned that patient satisfaction wasn’t as good as it could be. From then on, the hospital decided, every patient would be treated as if they were a loved one. “We learned quickly,” Kitts says, “that in order to even think about success in our goals we needed a very active and engaged workforce that included all 12,000 employees and 1,300 physicians.”

That year the hospital undertook its first employee and physician engagement survey. Seventy-five per cent of employees responded saying they wanted the hospital to improve performance management, to make employee wellness a priority and to provide further career opportunities. The hospital set up committees to address these concerns. Since 2009, Kitts says the hospital has seen significant improvement in these areas, but there is still work to be done.

“If we can improve employee engagement,” Kitts says, “we have no doubt that our patient satisfaction scores will go up, our quality and safety indicators will go up and we’ll become one of the top performing hospitals.”

St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg took a similar approach to engagement by first surveying its employees and asking what they needed. They reported a need for more active management, says Dave Leschasin, the head of human resources. St. Bonifice initiated a culture shift to help employees know where they stand in the organization. Their management engagement indicators have since gone from 65 per cent in the first year to 88 per cent currently.

“Employees like working for engaged managers,” he says. “The number one reason why employees leave their organization is because of their manager.”

METHODOLOGY: 280 Canadian employers took part in this year’s Best Employers studies. Aon Hewitt identified the Best Employers based primarily on survey responses from more than 168,000 Canadian employees at these organizations, gauging employee engagement levels and work environment factors. Participating employers were also required to survey their executive teams. According to Aon Hewitt’s definition, employees are engaged when they “say, stay and strive”: they speak positively about their employer to others, are committed to staying with their current employer, and are motivated by their organization’s leaders and culture to go “above and beyond” to contribute to business success. On average, 79 per cent of employees were engaged at Best Employers this year, up from 78 per cent last year.

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Canada’s 50 best employers

We’re number…hey! I don’t see Mark’s on this list, and we offer lots of health/wellness/recognition/development/discount/social opportunities. That’s it – I am going to get us a nap/quiet room. We are going to win next year for sure!!!!
Otherwise, I’m glad to see Lush on the list – that is a company i love to buy from.

If lush is on here then they need to make sure all there managers are fair. the one i.worked for hired alot of people for a past christmas and it seemed like the only people she kept on were her friends, and the people they didnt keep on were not even thanoed for helping out we judt never heard from the manager or anyone from lush again its like we didnt matter at all

it’s hard to be, when the environmental power trippers get in your business, especially when working in the automotive industry, they treat you as the bad guy that is responsible for all of the pollution of the earth. the fees they impose on us are astronomical. Jobs have been created by the gov’t around the env. movement: 40 hr/ weeks jobs, now these guys go around businesses, and they have the power and authority to tell you what to do with your business or else. When you show concern, and ask for help, they just don’t care and shut their door in your face! Compassion and Empathy is non-existant with these people.
it goes like that:
for the environmentalist is a well-intentioned movement,
for the person who established the movement it’s a cult, and,
for the governments, it’s a cash cow !!!
it’s always worth having a look at the other version of it all

I notice Telus is not even mentioned. This corp cut their own throat when they decided to decimate the company with horendous lay-offs of their most experienced and trusted employees. Not by age or training but by seniority only. What you have left is just a bloated
burocracy that sometimes provides dial tone if the person at the desk that day happens to know how punch computer keys. The word customer service is not allowed anymore. Just try them and you will see. hilly

BCAA claims it is on the list and it is not. They are a bad company to work for and have too much management period and bad incompentent management on top of that. 1 manager for every 3 staff in the IT department… people in the department that lie are rewarded and many people are bullied.

These rankings are a complete joke. Employers apply to be on the list so they put their Marketing department to work to put together an impressive presentation. I don’t think the people who make the selections even visit the sites to talk to average employees for their opinions. When they get on the list, management pats themselves on the back and tells employees that they should just be glad that they work for such a great company. They don’t try to create a better workplace because why should they – they’re on the list.

I worked for one of the companies that made the list for 2013. I was bullied, threatened, insulted, and was finally let go for absolutely no reason other than the fact that my new manager hated me. My experience wasn’t unique – other people went through it too and I’ve never worked for a company will worse employee morale. Investors and potential employees – take these ratings with a grain of salt because they’re bogus.

Please dont believe everything you read about Loyalty One. They will lure you into their “Cult” enviroment and then you will become a robot with going along with saying that everything is fine in fear of being fired. They are trying to get rid of all their tenure employees. The VP of the Customer Service is a backstabber

I work for LoyaltyOne in IT. Not customer service. And buddy, I don’t know about you, but I’ve worked for some SHITTY companies who have tossed me to the curb after a few months without a valid reason. Here though, I actually feel as if I matter. My opinions matter here. They genuinely care about my well-being. As a thank you for a recent project which just wrapped up, they took a bunch of us out to a swanky italian restaurant (the kind with a ‘prix fixe’ menu option), and just said “yeah, order anything you want. It’s on us.”, Hell, these guys are paying $300 of my yearly Weight Watchers fees, and beyond all the fringe benefits, the technology I get to work with here is beyond anything I’ve ever seen! So yeah, don’t believe everything you read indeed. You had a bad experience? Sorry to hear, because my experience working for this company is nothing but fantastic.

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This list is absolutely terrible. I think Bullied in BC hit it on the nail. The company I work for on this list (maybe the same one!) is great to work for ONLY if you are a manager as they almost are guaranteed a bonus and raise each year while the rest (the workers) have to fight for measly percent of an increase. And those are the lucky ones, because more than have do not receive one. People are leaving much more frequently than ever before. There is much distaste everywhere this I can assure you…yet time and time again this company makes the list? There has to be to some sort of Berlusconi type politics going on here because no way in hell this company should be here and in a short time I will hope not be here either.

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